Trainees and Scholars
Demography and Economics of Aging Training Program | Health Services Research Program | Burroughs Wellcome Fund Fellowship | MD-PhD Medicine, Social Sciences, & Humanities | Postdoctoral Program in Clinical Research Informatics (TL1) | Short-Term Aging-Related Research Program (STAR)
CHeSS is proud to support over 30 trainees and scholars who are affiliated with the Center’s various training programs. Learn more about each of our trainees and scholars below.

Claire Boone
Postdoctoral Fellow, Booth School of Business
claireboone@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): PhD, University of California Berkeley, CA, MPH, University of California Berkeley, CA, BA&Sc, McGill University, Canada
Research Interests: Health economics, behavioral economics, clinical decision-making

Kevin Connolly
Postdoctoral Fellow, Harris School of Public Policy
kevinconnolly@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): PhD, Harvard University-Cambridge, Massachusetts; AM, Harvard University- Cambridge, Massachusetts; AB, Harvard University-Cambridge, Massachusetts
Research Interests: Health Economics, Economics of Aging, Economics of Education

Melanie Nadon
Predoctoral Fellow, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
mnadon@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): BA, University of La Verne; MPA, University of Washington
Research Interests: Intersections of poverty, child welfare, and policy implementation

David Pavkovich
Postdoctoral Fellow, Section of Hospital Medicine
pavkovich@bsd.uchicago.edu
Degree(s): BA, Indiana University; MD, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine; Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center: Residency in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics; University of California – San Francisco – HEAL Initiative Fellowship in Global and Underserved Health; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Ongoing via distance learning
Research Interests: Community Health Workers, Providing High-Quality Care in Resource Constrained Settings, Infectious Diseases

Grey Pierce
Predoctoral Fellow, Sociology
greypierce@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): MA, University of Chicago; MS, University of Pennsylvania; BA, Oberlin College
Research Interests: Gender & Sexuality, Aging, Medicine, and Health

Tanya Rajan
Predoctoral Fellow, Economics
tanyar@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): BA, Mathematical Economic Analysis, Rice University, Houston, TX
Research Interests: Labor economics, rural-to-urban migration, household health decisions

Rebecca Anna Schut
Postdoctoral Fellow, Section of Hospital Medicine; Sociology
schutr@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): PhD, Demography and Sociology, University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; MA, Demography, University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; BA Health and Societies, University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Research Interests: Medical sociology; Structural determinants of health; Population studies; Health services research; Racial stratification; Immigrant incorporation

Ilana Ventura
Predoctoral Fellow, Sociology
imventura@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): N/A
Research Interests: N/A

Angela Wyse
Predoctoral Fellow, Harris School of Public Policy
awyse@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): BA in Public Policy, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI; Master of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School – Cambridge, MA
Research Interests: Restricted survey microdata links to to administrative data from federal and state government agencies to learn about characteristics, material circumstances, mortality, migration patterns, and housing status transitions of the U.S. homeless population
Health Services Research Program (AHRQ T32)

Emily Claypool
Predoctoral Fellow, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
eclaypool@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): AM, University of Chicago; BA, University of Minnesota
Research Interests: Science and technology studies & medical anthropology to understand the nature of social scientific knowledge production and institutionalization in the interdisciplinary context of health and social service research and provision.

Abhijit Grewal
Predoctoral Fellow, Health Sciences Integrated PhD Program, Northwestern University
abhijit.grewal@northwestern.edu
Degree(s): MHA, Cornell University; BA, Wayne State
Research Interests: Healthcare quality, mental health, telehealth, AI/ML, health services, outcomes, disparities

Sae Han
Predoctoral Fellow, Health Sciences Integrated PhD Program, Northwestern University
saehan2025@u.northwestern.edu
Degree(s): JBS, Human Biology, Health, and Society, Cornell University; MPH, Columbia University
Research Interests: Intersection of public health informatics and health outcomes within the aging population.

Cashell Lewis
Predoctoral Fellow, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice
cashell@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): Masters in Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, Brown School of Social Work.
Research Interests: Suicidal behavior among Black men, justice involved populations, health equity

Scott Loring
Predoctoral Fellow, Harris School of Public Policy
sloring@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): MA, Public Policy, University of Chicago; BA, Economics, University of Chicago
Research Interests: Medicaid expansion, health care access, competition, quality incentives

Allison Paulson
Predoctoral Fellow, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
apaulson@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): MPH, Epidemiology, University of Illinois at Chicago; MLA, University of Chicago; BA, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Research Interests: Access to health care; premature mortality; substance use disorders; mental health; federal and state substance use policies; primary care; health disparities; disability; Medicare; Medicaid; evidence-based practice

Lauren Peterson
Predoctoral Fellow, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
lapeterson@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): AM, Social Service Administration, University of Chicago; MPH, Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; BA, Public Policy, International Studies, University of North Carolina
Research Interests: Medicaid policy, access to health care and home and community based services (HCBS), disability policy, health equity, health politics, state health policy

Daniel Scott
Predoctoral Fellow, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
dcscott@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): MSW, Michigan State University; BA, Aquinas College
Research Interests: Value-Based Care, Policy Implementation, Community Mental Health, Diagnostic Taxonomy, Ideology, Professions/Professionalization, Economic Anthropology, Semiotics

Yalun Su
Predoctoral Fellow, Harris School of Public Policy
yalunsu@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): M.Sc., Econometrics and Mathematical Economics, London School of Economics
Research Interests: Public Economics, Health Economics, Disability Insurance, Healthcare Innovation

Mohansrinivas Chennakesavalu
2022-23 BWF Fellow, Pritzker School of Medicine
mchenn2@uchicagomedicine.org
Degree(s): BS in Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago
Research Interests: Cancer genomics, epigenomics, bioinformatics, neuroblastoma

Thomas Cyberski
2022-23 BWF Fellow, Pritzker School of Medicine
cyberski@uchicagomedicine.org
Degree(s): BS in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Research Interests: Molecular landscapes of head and neck cancer, specifically of the oral cavity and larynx

Willa Li
2022-23 BWF Fellow, Pritzker School of Medicine
willa.li@uchicagomedicine.org
Degree(s): BA, Harvard University – Cambridge, MA
Research Interests: Endoleak post-TEVAR, TBAD, finite-element/computational fluid dynamics modeling of aortic disease

Sid Ramesh
2022-23 BWF Fellow, Pritzker School of Medicine
sramesh@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): BA, Biology, University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, PA
Research Interests: Oncology, Diagnostics, Precision Medicine, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence

Courtney Amegashie
2021-22 BWF Fellow, Pritzker School of Medicine
camegashie@uchicago.edu
Degree(s): BA, Washington University in St. Louis
Research Interests: Preeclampsia, patient education, healthcare disparities

Michael Boachie-Mensah
2021-22 BWF Fellow, Pritzker School of Medicine
michael.boachie-mensah@uchospitals.edu
Degree(s): BS in Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University
Research Interests: Macular degeneration, macular hole, gut microbiome applications in retinal pathology

Julian Conn Busch
2021-22 BWF Fellow, Pritzker School of Medicine
julian.connbusch@uchospitals.edu
Degree(s): BS in Physiology, Seattle Pacific University
Research Interests: Applications of machine learning and deep learning in medical diagnosis, OR-to-ICU handoff procedures

Afia Khan
afia@uchicago.edu
PhD Program: Harris School of Public Policy
Research Interests: Health economics, antimicrobial resistance, social determinants of health and well-being

Joseph Krongold
jkrongold@uchicago.edu
PhD Program: Public Health Sciences- Health Services Research
Research Interests: Quality measurement, end of life care

Maya Lozinski
mayalozinski@uchicago.edu
PhD Program: Health Economics at the Harris School of Public Policy
Research Interests: Health economics, risk adjustment, machine learning

Steven Server
sserver@uchicago.edu
PhD Program: History of Medicine, Committee on the Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science and the Department of History
Research Interests: History of medicine and public health in modern Mexico; medical and scientific nationalism

Emily Dillon
Postdoctoral Fellow, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Rush University
emily_dillon@rush.edu
Doctoral Degree: PhD, University of Dublin, Trinity College
Research Interests: Autism and related disorders, social communication (pragmatics), sex and gender differences in autism symptom presentation and predicting outcomes in clinical trials

Krista Knudson
Postdoctoral Fellow, Nurse scientist and clinical researcher, Rush University
krista_a_knudson@rush.edu
Doctoral Degree: PhD, Yale University
Research Interests: Critical care; ECMO; patient and family experiences; long-term outcomes

Lucille Ray
Postdoctoral Fellow, Medicine, Section of Gastroenterology, Rush University
lucille_ray@rush.edu
Doctoral Degree: PhD, University of Akron, Ohio
Research Interests: Studying hormonal metabolism in the gut microbiome, expanding clinical research in hormonal metabolism and circulation in transgender hormonal replacement therapy

Mazin Sabeh
Postdoctoral Fellow, Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine, University of Chicago
sabehmazin@gmail.com
Doctoral Degree: MD, American University of Beirut, Lebanon
Research Interests: Creating a new or improved CDR to rule out pulmonary embolus in low risk patients, 50 years and older at the Emergency Department

Netanel Zilberstein
Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship, Rush University Medical Center
netanel_f_zilberstein@rush.edu
Doctoral Degree: MD, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Research Interests: Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Chronobiology, Circadian Rhythm

Christian Carrier
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
Chcarrier@uchicago.edu
Previous Degree: BA, Biology, Miami University
Research Interests: Hematologic Diseases, Healthcare Delivery and Quality Improvement

Miguel Gonzalez
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
miguelgonzalez@uchicago.edu
Previous Degree: BA, Duke University – Durham, North Carolina
Research Interests: Plastic and vascular surgery

Peter Hahn
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
peter.hahn@uchospitals.edu
Previous Degree: BA, University of Chicago, Chicago IL
Research Interests: Healthcare Delivery and Quality Improvement

Cristian Hernandez
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
crishernandez@uchicago.edu
Previous Degree: BS, Neuroscience – Yale University
Research Interests: Developmental Neuroscience, Aging/Dementia, and Social Determinants of Health

Ifeoma Ikedionwu
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
iikedionwu@uchicago.edu
Previous Degree: BS, Cell and Molecular Biology, Baylor University – Waco, TX
Research Interests:

Cooper Ruwe
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
cooper.ruwe@uchospitals.edu
Previous Degree: BS in Biology, University of Mississippi; BGS in General Studies, University of Mississippi – University, MS
Research Interests: Effects of early life exposures on aging; social determinants of health; sensory functioning

Jay Suh
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
jay.suh@uchospitals.edu
Previous Degree: BS, University of Cincinnati – Cincinnati, OH
Research Interests: Diabetic eye disease, retinal diseases

Tiffany Xie
Predoctoral Fellow, Medicine, University of Chicago
tiffany.xie@uchospitals.edu
Previous Degree: BS in Biology, BA in English – Indiana University
Research Interests: Social determinants of health, health equity, social epidemiology